Contents

The fact that it shifts (modulates) and ends in a different key, a feature it shares with the Italian national anthem,[1] makes it compositionally unusual. The lyrics employ the five most widely spoken of South Africa's eleven official languages – Xhosa (first stanza, first two lines), Zulu (first stanza, last two lines), Sesotho (second stanza), Afrikaans (third stanza), and English (final stanza).